AFL star Jeremy Howe reveals why cousin Matthew Wade is a fighter on the field

Matthew Wade is the most competitive person Jeremy Howe knows, the Collingwood high-flyer revealing his cousin could be an AFL star.

Matthew Wade (right) with Australian captain Tim Paine before the Boxing Day Test. Picture: Picture: Alex Coppel

Matthew Wade reckons he would walk into the best 22 at most AFL clubs … and Collingwood superstar Jeremy Howe reckons he’s probably right.

“If you ask him, he goes, ‘I’d play small forward in at least 12 AFL teams’,” Howe said of his cocky cousin.

“Personally, I definitely think he could’ve played AFL. The knock on him was he was a bit smaller, but he was more competitive than anyone I’ve ever seen.

Watch Australia v India Test Series Live & Ad-Break Free During Play with the Fox Cricket commentary team. New to Kayo? Get your free trial now & start streaming instantly >

“He was tough, he won three (junior) league best-and-fairests, he played VFL for Tassie, and he’s a better kick than 90 per cent of blokes I’ve seen.

“He’s a left-footer and most of them do look pretty good.”

Really? Australia’s lippy little opening batsman lighting up a forward line, perhaps, say, in Toby Greene’s mould?

“To be honest, if he had a tank, he’d do it,” Howe said.

“But unfortunately he doesn’t have one.

“Maybe if he could play as a stay-at-home forward, because he loves goals.”

Howe made his mark by gliding around the MCG taking hangers, but on Saturday he will sit in the stands as Wade stands and delivers from the middle.

Boxing Days have certainly changed for the Howe and Wade families, who grew up in the tiny Tassie towns of Dodges Ferry and Lauderdale, respectively.

It used to be called “Slab Day”, as everyone would celebrate Matt’s birthday by piling into the Wade household carrying a box of beer.

“As soon as it was lunchtime (in the Test), the wickets would come out in the middle of the backyard, and within 10 minutes he’d smash a window,” Howe said.

“He’d put one through the covers and smash his parents’ window and the game would finish. He’d never bowl, because you’d never get him out … and when you got him out, he wouldn’t take it.”

Matthew Wade in action during the first Test against India in Adelaide. Picture: Getty Images

Wade’s trademark killer instinct was evident early.

When Jeremy’s older brother Justin challenged the boys to a race down a steep gravel hill, it seemed like there were no winners.

Justin rode a push bike while Wade and Howe rocketed down on a billy cart, before flipping out and leaving plenty of their skin behind.

“We had gravel rash for days, but because we won he didn’t care,” Howe said.

“He goes, ‘Because we won I don’t feel it, it’s fine’.”

When Howe was drafted by Melbourne, Wade would drag him to the Dendy Park claycourts for five-set tennis matches on days off from pre-season. The intensity never dimmed.

“Even my wife Kahlia, who played pretty high-level basketball, goes, ‘I grew up in a competitive family, but I don’t challenge anyone within yours because they’re all psychos’,” Howe said.

“He definitely gets it from his old man (Scott Wade), who played at Hawthorn for a bit.

“They were both pretty lippy and loved a fight. There’s this ultimate competitiveness from within.”

Grounded by wife Julia and daughters Goldie and Winter, Wade’s dash of arrogance has matured into healthy confidence.

He has captained Victoria, Tasmania, Hobart Hurricanes and, in a Twenty20 against India last month, Australia.

“Cricket’s not the be-all and end-all, which it used to be,” Howe said.

“That weighed him down a little bit because he put so much pressure on himself.”

Coach Justin Langer said Wade was now a “low-maintenance, no-fuss” player who had smoothed the rough edges.

“He’s physically tough, mentally tough, and he’s incredibly popular among the playing group,” Langer said.

“He’s a bit of a pin-up boy for the philosophy we’re trying to get back into our cricket.”

Wade with cousin and Collingwood footballer Jeremy Howe before the 2018 AFL Grand Final.

Last year Wade took his streetfighter mentality to the pitch in Perth and absorbed blow after blow from Neil Wagner’s bumper barrage.

“Keep coming, big boy,” Wade dared the Kiwi, stoking the same attitude from that billy cart race.

Unsurprisingly, Langer loved the physical pounding.

“Gold,” he said.

“Everyone thought it was crazy, I thought it was brilliant.

“Here’s a guy trying to cement himself in the Test team — with the field they set for him, what’s he meant to do? Play pull shots? He said, ‘I’m not going to let you get me out, so if I get hit on the body I get hit on the body. I don’t care — you’re not getting me out’.

“I love how hard he had to fight and perform to get back in the team.”

It seems Howe, 30, and Wade, 33 on Boxing Day will talk everything except their professions.

When Howe dialled Wade after a few beers on a Magpies’ Mad Monday, real estate was the topic of choice.

“I currently live in his old house in Highett — it’s a funny story,” Howe said.

“His house was going to auction, but then he went on a tour to India. So I thought I’ll ring him up and give him an offer. I said, ‘What would you do if I gave you an offer like this?’ and he goes, ‘I’d sell it to you, because I’d just get rid of it — that way I don’t have to do an auction’.

“All right, done. It was sold on the spot, and I ended up buying his house off him.

“He went to India, came back, packed his stuff up, and he was out. I bought it on Mad Monday … I had to come up with the finances when I thought about it the next day.”

Wade cops a bouncer from New Zealand paceman Neil Wagner in Perth last year. Picture: Getty Images

The first time they talked shop was when former Magpies assistant coach Justin Longmuir interviewed Wade in front of Collingwood’s backline.

“I sat there like a fan listening to him thinking, ‘S---, I’ve never actually spoken to you about this stuff before’,” Howe said.

“It was good to get an insight into what his routine is like, because I just assumed he just rocks up and plays.”

Longmuir quizzed Wade on the mental side of cricket — the concentration required of a wicketkeeper and how Wade’s idiosyncrasies keep the mind sharp when batting.

“He unclicks his gloves and walks away from the pitch,” Howe said.

“Then by the time he resets and clicks his gloves back together, he’s forgotten about the ball that happened previously.

“He’s all about playing every single ball on its merits. Disregard what happened before, don’t premeditate anything, and just play it as it comes.

“He said he plays the ball really late, and that’s probably a good way to go about it.

“His last two years have been clearly his best-performed as a batter.”

On Thursday Langer described Josh Hazlewood as a “Brownlow medallist”, and Howe said taking down India at the MCG was almost like Wade’s crack at a Norm Smith.

“Boxing Day is the one that gives them all the chills,” Howe said.

“Everyone’s watching it.”

Originally published as AFL star Jeremy Howe reveals why cousin Matthew Wade is a fighter on the field